


Finding a Place to Call Home

by Silmarwen



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fire Emblem Three Houses characters in the Breath of the Wild setting, Claude raised in Gerudo Town, Developing Relationship, First Meetings, Gen, Hylian Claude, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Zora Dimitri, episodic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 16:50:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20820617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silmarwen/pseuds/Silmarwen
Summary: It's been a few months since Claude left Gerudo town when a chance encounter has him running into a very tall, very grumpy zora in the faron forest.





	Finding a Place to Call Home

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired from a piece of artwork on twitter by [@areadbhar_](https://twitter.com/areadbhar_/status/1173838304288149504).
> 
> Update: Came back to this after so long with a few edits. Made some changes as well. For one now Claude's a hylian raised in Gerudo town, cause I had some story ideas for if I make more chapters, and... and... height differences. Like Link and Sideon level height differences. I'm very simple... and stupid.

The sun is high in the sky as an exhausted man trudges through the deep brush of Faron forest, surprised there can be a heat that doesn’t comfort him like the desert back where he grew up. A soft curse escapes his lips as he continues looking for a place to camp for the night, with less bokoblins compared to last night, ideally none. He swears those monsters have a homing sense or something, they always seem to find him when he doesn’t want them. It’s like he’s cursed (he blames the Great Calamity).

It’s almost nightfall when he finally finds a perfect spot, a secluded pool high atop on of the tall mountains with a small waterfall. He relaxes on the grass, his bow beside him as he lets out a long, loud sigh.

“Why is travelling so annoying?” He complains to no one. He waits as if for a reply before glancing at the fruit trees nearby. He’s already drooling at the prospect of food.

With a few well aimed shoots later he’s busy eating a hearty durian, feet hanging in the water. “Sa’oten! That feels good!” Curse humid heat, he misses the dry heat of the desert just thinking about it. 

Filled up on fruit, he stares at the water, the cool temperature inviting him in. Giving into the temptation he strips out of his travelling clothes and jumps in. All that’s left on him are the golden bangles and bands he wears. He’s never been one for removing them unless absolutely necessary. They’re a piece of home, reminding him of his mothers and sisters back in Gerudo Town. Idly he starts rubbing the gold band around his neck, a gift from his best friend, recalling the day he left months back to start his journey.

_“You remember to come back after your journey, ya hear Claude?” His best friend scolds him, puffing up her cheeks as he just laughs in turn. “And get me something cute as a present.” She adds, giving him a big hug that he swears might break his waist._

_“I’m sure you’ll leave town on your own adventure soon too Hilda.” He can’t help but grin as she pouts at the reminder._

_“But I’m just a helpless, weak little vai.” They both know that’s a lie when he’s seen her cleave a moblin in half with her axe on a regular basis._

_“Right, I believe you completely.” Lifting his bag, he turns to the town exit, staring at the desert waiting for him. “I’ll come back when I’m done. Sav’orq!” He tells her before he starts his journey._

He doesn’t regret his choice to leave, though he greatly underestimated how many monsters are out in the wilds. Looks like the desert climate kept their population lower than most places. At least he’s a skilled archer, avoiding close combat is ideal when travelling. Inn keepers keep warning him about lynels though. He prays he doesn’t run into one of those, ever.

As he reminisces, lounging on his back in the water, he doesn’t notice the intense gaze watching him from above.

One long relaxing swim later, Claude’s back on the grass, dressed and working on a fire for the night. He’s caught a few trout as well, feeling overly impressed with himself for catching them without having to resort to using his bow. While the fish are being cooked by the fire, he glances up at the sky, moon already above the treeline. He’s always marvelled at how the stars and moon look the same no matter where he’s been, like a reminder he’s never too far from home. As he starts to feel himself dozing off, he slaps his cheeks, waking himself up enough so he can at least put out the fire and eat before falling asleep.

As he eats his fish, he finds himself enjoying the time to himself. A lot of this trip has had him staying at inns or running into travellers on the way and it’s always been, awkward. First, they comment on his gerudo weapons and clothes, and then ask where he bought them. He knows they'd never believe he grew up in Gerudo Town. His features, particularly his height give away his hylian lineage and voe aren't allowed back home so why would they even consider the gerudo raising a little baby hylian voe found outside the gates. He’s only mentioned it once and wanted to shoot the voe afterwards for his rude comments. 

No wonder some of his mothers and sisters back home don’t ever want to leave. He misses them during times like this, misses Judith scolding him and Leonie, Hilda complaining about her chores and Lysithea pouting whenever he treated her like a kid.

Even if he misses it a lot, he still felt like he was kept at arm's length by those not as close to him. That’s why he left, why he’s travelling, trying to find a place for himself to feel like he fits in completely, to learn more about himself even.

Once he’s had his fill, he moves to a small cave behind the waterfall, sheltered from the inevitable rain and thunderstorms. It’s dark and damp but in the Faron forest, better safe than sorry.

* * *

Claude’s always been a light sleeper, so when he senses movement late in the night, he easily wakes up, expecting either a wild animal or a monster. It’s dark inside the cave, the light of the moon refracting through the waterfall, slightly illuminating the area around him. As he slowly blinks the sleep out of his eyes, he can already sense something close, hovering over him.

He’s instantly awake from that, moving as fast as he can to grab his bow only to have a foot step on his hand, spear pointed at his head as he turns to look up at his attacker. He tries to make them out with the limited lighting, squinting his eyes. Whoever they are, they’re huge, deep snarling noises emanating from deep in their throat.

“H-Hey, I mean no harm.” Claude tries his best to appear as harmless as possible, offering his best smile to lighten the mood. If they were one of the usual monsters, he’d be dead already, so there’s still a chance he can talk his way out of this. The intruder continues to growl at him, not impressed.

Light shines off gray skin, scarred and marred from battles past. He can only make out a left eye and can only assume the other lost in a battle linked to one of those scars. They’re very big, and very muscular.

_A zora? _He thinks to himself, taking deep breaths and hoping the fact that he’s still alive means they’re losing interest in him or something. 

“Why are you here?” A deep voice asks him, snarling, the light reflecting off sharp teeth.

_Goddess, he’s huge!_ Claude can’t help but be amazed by the size of him. It takes him longer then it should to put together an answer in his current stupor. “I’m just passing through.” He states. “I’ve never even met a zora before this. Now put that spear down before someone, mainly me, gets hurt, please?”

The zora growls, pushing the spear closer to his neck. He shivers as the tip presses into his skin. Great, this is how he’s going to die, at the end of a very big, very pissed off zora’s spear.

Surprisingly, the zora backs off. “Leave.” He snarls before diving through the waterfall.

Claude stares at the spot he once stood, sighing heavily as he flops on the ground. “That was a bit too intense.” He mutters, glancing at the water in case he returns. A few instants later he groans, standing and grabbing his bow. Can’t sleep now, might as well go outside and see if he’s still around, and hopefully not ready to change his mind about killing him.

Upon exiting the cave, he feels rain hitting his head and the sound of distant thunder. _Not another thunderstorm_. Defeated, he stores his bow back in the cave, knowing he doesn’t need more things to make him into a lightning rod. He’s too stubborn to remove his gold bands after all, making a mental note to be aware of if something starts sparking nearby as he walks away from the waterfall.

Slowly he makes his way around the pool, there's no sign of the zora at all. He’s about ready to head back inside, away from the risk of lightning, when he hears fighting nearby. He moves closer to the noise, finally spotting the zora taking on a large group of lizalfos, a few already dead on the ground around them. With the light of the moon giving him a better view then in the cave, he can’t help but feel amazed, staring at the sight before him.

_Damn! How can he be so damn tall, muscular and attractive?_ Claude can’t help but be awestruck by him. He looks like he’s made of pure muscle, stabbing one of the remaining lizalfos brutally through their chest with a maddening grin on his face.

Claude’s so immersed in watching the fight he almost misses the sparks starting to conduct on the zora’s spear. He knows what that means. Lightning’s about to strike and that’s lethal under normal conditions and he’s sure he’s heard that zora are weak to lightning strikes. He’s got to do something to at least warn him of the danger.

He makes his way over as best as he can, slipping on the mud a few times, cursing under his breath. Once this is over, he’s going to have a few scraps and bruises for sure. The storm means no one noticed him getting closer.

The sparks are more frequent now, it’s just about to hit. There’s barely any time left. 

“Hey!” He calls out, rushing to the zora’s side, hearing him roar in anger as he grabs the spear, ready to throw it as far away as possible. Before he can grab it back, the last lizalfos jumps at them, causing the zora to grab it instead, snapping bones as he tackles it to the ground, fangs bared.

Claude can’t help but stare, forgetting that he’s still holding the spear. He throws it as fast as he can, but just as it leaves his hands the lightning comes crashes down, sending him flying into a tree just from the impact. A silent gasp escapes his lips as the air is forced out of his lungs from the impact.

By the goddesses, it hurts so much. He can already feel the corners of his vision going dark as he tries to get back on his feet. As he groans from the pain, he can hear someone getting closer. Glancing up, he sees the zora staring down at him, expression unreadable in his current state. Any moment now he’s going to pass out, he can’t even get his words together. Instead he watches, starting to go in and out of consciousness as the zora bends down and picks him up. He tries to whisper a sarqso but instead he blacks out, going limp in his arms.

* * *

When he comes to, he’s laying beside one of the tall trees beside the pool, a small fire going nearby, as if to keep him warm. He can only assume the zora helped him, likely repaying him for saving his life. He slowly glances around to see if he’s still around. Eventually a faint splash in the water shows that the zora did not leave him alone.

He seems preoccupied, hunting some fish for himself. With a wince, Claude sits up, holding his side. “I’m gonna feel that for a few days for sure.” He complains, turning back to the water when he hears the zora emerge, walking over and dropping a trout into a small pile of fish beside the fire.

“S-sarqso.” Claude tries to make conversation. He just gets a look of confusion in return. “Oh, that means _thanks_ back home in Gerudo Town.” He always forgets some people aren’t familiar with the gerudo language.

“I don’t like owing favors.” The zora grunts a reply before turning back to the water.

“Wait!” Claude shouts, whimpering a little as he holds his side from the quick movement, jostling it too much. “S-Shit that hurts.” He curls in on himself, looking up when he feels his unlikely caretaker move closer, towering over him as he stares down at the injured hylian.

“What?” He grunts, and Claude finally notices he’s wearing a patch over his right eye. Interesting, it suits him.

He sits in a daze, staring at him for a few moments, snapping out of it when he turns around again, ready to walk away out of annoyance. “W-What’s your name? I’m Claude.” 

The zora seems to be considering if to even bother humoring him. After what feels like an eternity to Claude, he turns to him.

“Dimitri.”

**Author's Note:**

> Note that at one point I thought of making this in Fodlan, before I realized playing over 100 hours of BotW meant it was so easy for me to write this in Hyrule so I decided to stick with that. So there's not gonna be much occurring in this story that occurs in the game as a result.
> 
> Also I feel so sad that I wanted Dimitri to carry Claude but he's not even awake during it like in the image that inspired this. Hopefully I will continue writing for this cause I really want to.


End file.
